Switching from Student Visa to Tier 1 UK Visa

Hi all,

This is my first post and I have a bit of a complicated situation (don’t we all!) – am hoping somebody might be able to help?

I am currently a student living in London, UK. When I applied for my student visa last year I had indicated that my Master’s program will be complete in December 2008 - but was given a student visa which doesn’t expire until April 2009 (I understand that it’s common for the government to tag on a few additional months).

I would now like to move and work in London full-time starting this Spring 2009. I qualify to apply for the Tier 1 Migrant Visa (90 points).

The complicated part is that next I am still 'technically' a student in 2009 as I don’t graduate from my program until December 2009…. BUT the program is not full-time next year (only this year) – next year is a thesis-writing year. I have already decided to complete my thesis at the start of next year (in Canada) BEFORE I move back to London in the spring as I wish to work FULL-TIME when I am living back in London. Unfortunately, regardless of when I finish and hand in my thesis, my actual graduation/award of my Masters degree will not be until the end of 2009. Because of this reason, I don’t think I’m allowed to apply for a ‘post-study work visa’.

That being said… My questions are:

1) Can I make an application for the Tier 1 Migrant visa in Jan 2009 when my student visa doesn’t technically expire until April 2009 (even though I had indicated the full-time program ended Dec 2008)?

2) Can I switch from a student to Tier 1 visa even though I am ‘sort-of’ still in school (not full-time) while making the application? I can get my university to write a letter that states I am no longer enrolled in full-time study if needed.

3) Am I only allowed to apply for this particular visa from Canada?

4) Provided I properly submit all the requirement documents/paperwork, how long can I realistically expect the approval process to take?

Thanks so much for any insight you might be able to provide! I know everybody’s visa application process is complicated and it’s so easy to get lost/confused in all the rules and regulations…. Any help you could offer would be much appreciated.